Volkswagen Group India Partners with Indo-German Urban Mela as “City Partners” for Pune

Pune, Maharashtra, India:-- Volkswagen Group India brings future mobility concepts for the first time to its hometown Pune

-- To showcase concept car NILS and MicroCity concept - a sneak-peak into the future of mobility

-- Plant tours will be organised by Volkswagen with free shuttle service for the same starting from the Indo-German Urban Mela venue

-- 10 Volkswagen Group cars will be provided for VIP shuttle service during Indo-German Urban Mela

After a successful display of future mobility at Indo-German Urban Mela (IGUM) in Delhi, Volkswagen Group India will be present at the Pune Edition of IGUM. At the Volkswagen Group India Exhibition Pavilion at IGUM, two important concepts, ‘MicroCity’ and ‘NILS’ will be showcased. Volkswagen will also talk about the future targets based on Innovation, Responsibility and Sustainability. Under Innovation, the displayed content will be on the future of hybrid mobility, electric mobility and alternative fuels. Sustainability theme will cover topics ranging from ‘ThinkBlue. Factory.’ to eco-compatible technologies, recycling concepts, forms of energy and renewable sources of energy. Under the theme of Responsibility, there will be information on various activities undertaken by Volkswagen Group in that respect.

Town planners worldwide are in search of visionary concepts that will enable them to keep pace with increasing volumes of traffic. One of the solutions conceptualised by Volkswagen to address these problems concerning urban congestion is MicroCity. It is a concept of intelligent traffic systems which makes using passenger vehicles in cities easier and more appealing for customers. The MicroCity is a mobility hub that is more than simply a car park and comes with integrated vehicle-related services such as charging stations and vehicle rental stations. The MicroCity is also a central point for switching to different modes of transport: boarding an underground train, taking advantage of car sharing and car pools, or hiring an e-scooter for those last few metres to the city centre. This hub is enhanced with shops and other useful services. The logical combination of mobility, services and concentrated parking zones in micro-cities could thus provide lasting relief for overcrowded cities and rid the urban landscape of the long rows of stationary vehicles — a vision that is surprisingly realistic. With the MicroCity, Volkswagen is able to position itself with customers and cities as a partner for an intelligent form of urban mobility.

NILS is a single-seat electric concept vehicle designed to address future individual mobility requirements. The NILS project is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, and is designed to be both technically realistic and economically feasible. NILS is a very compact car that requires extremely little space in traffic. It is only 3.04 metres long and just 1.39 metres wide from wheel to wheel, and a mere 1.2 metres tall. This concept car – which features an aluminium space frame, wing doors and free-standing wheels has the dynamic performance of a sports car, yet travels silently with zero emissions. Optimal weight distribution, practical design, safety features like automatic braking and a range of 65 kilometres with top speed of 130 km/h, NILS would be an ideal vehicle for majority of commuters in cities.

Volkswagen will also be organizing plant tour of their world class Chakan facility through their pavilion at IGUM. Interested visitors can book their plant tours on any of the designated 5 days during the period of IGUM on January 11 to January 14 and January 17. Also 10 Volkswagen Group cars will be provided at IGUM as VIP Shuttles.

About Volkswagen Group India:

With its headquarters in Pune, Maharashtra, the Volkswagen Group is represented by five brands in India: Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche, ŠKODA, and Volkswagen. The Volkswagen Group has been present in India for the last 11 years and began its India journey with the entry of the ŠKODA brand in 2001, Audi brand and Volkswagen brand in 2007, Porsche brand and Lamborghini brand in 2012. Each brand has its own character and operates as an independent entity in the market. Volkswagen Group India has over 25 models in India and 230 dealerships and is operating through two plants – Pune and Aurangabad. The Pune plant has a manufacturing capacity of 1,30,000 cars every year and is currently manufacturing Volkswagen Polo and Vento and ŠKODA Fabia and Rapid. The Aurangabad plant caters to various premium and luxury models of Audi, ŠKODA and Volkswagen sold in India and has an annual capacity of approximately 89,000 (getting exact figure in a while). Volkswagen Group India is a part of Volkswagen AG, which is globally represented by 12 brands - Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, Porsche, Scania, SEAT, ŠKODA, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge), MAN and Volkswagen Passenger Cars.